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Antarctic sea ice
Sea ice of the Southern Ocean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Antarctic sea ice is the sea ice of the Southern Ocean. It extends from the far north in the winter and retreats to almost the coastline every summer.[1] Sea ice is frozen seawater that is usually less than a few meters thick. This is the opposite of ice shelves, which are formed by glaciers; they float in the sea, and are up to a kilometre thick. There are two subdivisions of sea ice: fast ice, which are attached to land; and ice floes, which are not.
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Sea ice that comes from the Southern Ocean melts from the bottom instead of the surface like Arctic ice because it is covered in snow on top. As a result, melt ponds are rarely observed. On average, Antarctic sea ice is younger, thinner, warmer, saltier, and more mobile than Arctic sea ice.[2] Another difference between the two ice packs, is that while there is clear Arctic sea ice decline, the trend in Antarctica is roughly flat.[1] Antarctic sea ice is not studied very well in comparison to Arctic ice since it is less accessible.